ANKN is a resource for compiling and exchanging information
related to Alaska Native knowledge systems and ways of knowing. We
are pleased to create and distribute a variety of publications
that assist Native people, government agencies,
educators and the general public in gaining access to the knowledge
base that Alaska Natives have acquired through cumulative experience
over millennia.

The following standards have been developed by Alaska Native
educators to provide a way for schools and communities to examine the extent
to which they are attending
to the educational and cultural well being of the students in their care. These "cultural standards" are
predicated on the belief that a firm grounding in the heritage language and
culture indigenous to a particular place is a fundamental
prerequisite for the development of culturally-healthy students and communities
associated with that place, and thus is an essential ingredient for identifying
the appropriate qualities and practices associated with culturally-responsive
educators, curriculum and schools.

For several years, Alaska has been developing "content standards"
to define what students should know and be able to do as they go through school.
In addition, "performance standards" are being developed for teachers
and administrators, and a set of "quality school standards" have been
put forward by the Alaska Department of Education to serve as a basis for accrediting
schools in Alaska. To the extent that these state standards are written for
general use throughout Alaska, they dont always address some of the special
issues that are of critical importance to schools in rural Alaska, particularly
those serving Alaska Native communities and students.

Through a series of regional and statewide meetings associated
with the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (with funding provided by the National
Science Foundation
and the Annenberg Rural Challenge, and administrative support from the Alaska
Federation of Natives in collaboration with the University of Alaska), Alaska
Native educators have developed the following "Alaska Standards for Culturally-Responsive
Schools" for consideration by educators serving Native students around
the state. Though the emphasis is on rural schools serving Native communities,
many of the standards are applicable to all students and communities because
they focus curricular attention on in-depth study of the surrounding physical
and cultural environment in which the school is situated, while recognizing
the unique contribution that indigenous people can make to such study as long-term
inhabitants who have accumulated extensive specialized knowledge related to
that environment.

Standards have been drawn up in five areas, including those
for students, educators, curriculum, schools, and communities. These "cultural standards" provide
guidelines or touchstones against which schools and communities can examine
what they are doing to attend to the cultural well-being of the young people
they are responsible for nurturing to adulthood. The standards included here
serve as a complement to, not as a replacement for, those adopted by the
State
of Alaska. While the state standards stipulate what students should know and
be able to do, the cultural standards are oriented more toward providing
guidance
on how to get them there in such a way that they become responsible, capable
and whole human beings in the process. The emphasis is on fostering a strong
connection between what students experience in school and their lives out
of
school by providing opportunities for students to engage in in-depth experiential
learning in real-world contexts. By shifting the focus in the curriculum
from
teaching/learning about cultural heritage as another subject to teaching/learning
through the local culture as a foundation for all education, it is intended
that all forms of knowledge, ways of knowing and world views be recognized
as
equally valid, adaptable and complementary to one another in mutually beneficial
ways.

The cultural standards outlined in this document are not intended to be inclusive,
exclusive or conclusive, and thus should be reviewed and adapted to fit local
needs. Each school, community and related organization should consider which
of these standards are appropriate and which are not, and when necessary, develop
additional cultural standards to accommodate local circumstances. Terms should
be interpreted to fit local conventions, especially with reference to meanings
associated with the definition of Elder, tradition, spirituality, or anything
relating to the use of the local language. Where differences of interpretation
exist, they should be respected and accommodated to the maximum extent possible.
The cultural standards are not intended to produce standardization, but rather
to encourage schools to nurture and build upon the rich and varied cultural
traditions that continue to be practiced in communities throughout Alaska.

Some of the multiple uses to which these cultural standards may be put are
as follows:

They may be used as a basis for reviewing school or district-level goals,
policies and practices with regard to the curriculum and pedagogy being implemented
in each community or cultural area.

They may be used by a local community to examine the kind of home/family
environment and parenting support systems that are provided for the upbringing
of its children.

They may be used to devise locally appropriate ways to review student and
teacher performance as it relates to nurturing and practicing culturally-healthy
behavior, including serving as potential graduation requirements for students.

They may be used to strengthen the commitment to revitalizing the local
language and culture and fostering the involvement of Elders as an educational
resource.

They may be used to help teachers identify teaching practices that are adaptable
to the cultural context in which they are teaching.

They may be used to guide the preparation and orientation of teachers in
ways that help them attend to the cultural well-being of their students.

They may serve as criteria against which to evaluate educational programs
intended to address the cultural needs of students.

They may be used to guide the formation of state-level policies and regulations
and the allocation of resources in support of equal educational opportunities
for all children in Alaska.

Curriculum resources and technical support to implement the kind of learning
experiences encouraged by the enclosed cultural standards may be found through
the Alaska Native Knowledge Network web site located at http://www.ankn.uaf.edu,
or call (907) 474-5897.

Cultural Standards for Students

Culturally-knowledgeable students are well
grounded in the cultural heritage and traditions of their community.

Students who meet this cultural standard are able to:

assume responsibility for their role in relation
to the well-being of the cultural community and their life-long obligations
as a community member;

recount their own genealogy and family history;

acquire and pass on the traditions of their community
through oral and written history;

practice their traditional responsibilities to
the surrounding environment;

reflect through their own actions the critical
role that the local heritage language plays in fostering a sense of who
they are and how they
understand the world around them;

live a life in accordance with the cultural values
and traditions of the local community and integrate them into their everyday
behavior.

determine the place of their cultural community
in the regional, state, national and international political and economic
systems;

Culturally-knowledgeable students are able
to build on the knowledge and skills of the local cultural community as a foundation
from which to achieve personal and academic success throughout life.

Students who meet this cultural standard are able to:

acquire insights from other cultures without diminishing
the integrity of their own;

make effective use of the knowledge, skills and
ways of knowing from their own cultural traditions to learn about the larger
world in which they
live;

make appropriate choices regarding the long-term
consequences of their actions;

identify appropriate forms of technology and anticipate
the consequences of their use for improving the quality of life in the
community.

Culturally-knowledgeable students are able
to actively participate in various cultural environments.

Students who meet this cultural standard are able to:

perform subsistence activities in ways that are
appropriate to local cultural traditions;

make constructive contributions to the governance
of their community and the well-being of their family;

attain a healthy lifestyle through which they
are able to maintain their own social, emotional, physical, intellectual
and spiritual well-being;

enter into and function effectively in a variety
of cultural settings.

Culturally-knowledgeable students are able
to engage effectively in learning activities that are based on traditional ways
of knowing and learning.

engage in a realistic self-assessment to identify
strengths and needs and make appropriate decisions to enhance life skills.

Culturally-knowledgeable students demonstrate
an awareness and appreciation of the relationships and processes of interaction
of all elements in the world around them.

Students who meet this cultural standard are able to:

recognize and build upon the inter-relationships
that exist among the spiritual, natural and human realms in the world around
them, as reflected
in their own cultural traditions and beliefs as well as those of others;

understand the ecology and geography of the bioregion
they inhabit;

demonstrate an understanding of the relationship
between world view and the way knowledge is formed and used;

determine how ideas and concepts from one knowledge
system relate to those derived from other knowledge systems;

recognize how and why cultures change over time;

anticipate the changes that occur when different
cultural systems come in contact with one another;

determine how cultural values and beliefs influence
the interaction of people from different cultural backgrounds;

identify and appreciate who they are and their
place in the world.

Cultural Standards for Educators

Culturally-responsive educators incorporate
local ways of knowing and teaching in their work.

Educators who meet this cultural standard:

recognize the validity and integrity of the traditional
knowledge system;

utilize Elders expertise in multiple ways
in their teaching;

provide opportunities and time for students to
learn in settings where local cultural knowledge and skills are naturally
relevant;

provide opportunities for students to learn through
observation and hands-on demonstration of cultural knowledge and skills;

adhere to the cultural and intellectual property
rights that pertain to all aspects of the local knowledge they are addressing;

continually involve themselves in learning about
the local culture.

Culturally-responsive educators use the local
environment and community resources on a regular basis to link what they are
teaching to the everyday lives of the students.

Educators who meet this cultural standard:

regularly engage students in appropriate projects
and experiential learning activities in the surrounding environment;

utilize traditional settings such as camps as
learning environments for transmitting both cultural and academic knowledge
and skills;

provide integrated learning activities organized
around themes of local significance and across subject areas;

are knowledgeable in all the areas of local history
and cultural tradition that may have bearing on their work as a teacher,
including the appropriate
times for certain knowledge to be taught;

seek to ground all teaching in a constructive
process built on a local cultural foundation.

Culturally-responsive educators participate
in community events and activities in an appropriate and supportive way.

Educators who meet this cultural standard:

become active members of the community in which
they teach and make positive and culturally-appropriate contributions to
the well being of that
community;

exercise professional responsibilities in the
context of local cultural traditions and expectations;

maintain a close working relationship with and
make appropriate use of the cultural and professional expertise of their
co-workers from the local
community.

Culturally-responsive educators work closely
with parents to achieve a high level of complementary educational expectations
between home and school.

Educators who meet this cultural standard:

promote extensive community and parental interaction and
involvement in their childrens education;

involve Elders, parents and local leaders in all
aspects of instructional planning and implementation;

seek to continually learn about and build upon
the cultural knowledge that students bring with them from their homes and
community;

seek to learn the local heritage language and
promote its use in their teaching.

Culturally-responsive educators recognize
the full educational potential of each student and provide the challenges necessary
for them to achieve that potential.

Educators who meet this cultural standard:

recognize cultural differences as positive attributes
around which to build appropriate educational experiences;

provide learning opportunities that help students
recognize the integrity of the knowledge they bring with them and use that
knowledge as a springboard
to new understandings;

reinforce the students sense of cultural
identity and place in the world;

acquaint students with the world beyond their
home community in ways that expand their horizons while strengthening their
own identities;

recognize the need for all people to understand
the importance of learning about other cultures and appreciating what each
has to offer.

Cultural Standards for Curriculum

A culturally-responsive curriculum reinforces
the integrity of the cultural knowledge that students bring with them.

A curriculum that meets this cultural standard:

recognizes that all knowledge is imbedded in a
larger system of cultural beliefs, values and practices, each with its
own integrity and interconnectedness;

insures that students acquire not only the surface
knowledge of their culture, but are also well grounded in the deeper aspects
of the associated
beliefs and practices;

incorporates contemporary adaptations along with
the historical and traditional aspects of the local culture;

respects and validates knowledge that has been
derived from a variety of cultural traditions;

provides opportunities for students to study all
subjects starting from a base in the local knowledge system.

A culturally-responsive curriculum recognizes
cultural knowledge as part of a living and constantly adapting system that is
grounded in the past, but continues to grow through the present and into the
future.

A curriculum that meets this cultural standard:

recognizes the contemporary validity of much of
the traditional cultural knowledge, values and beliefs, and grounds students
learning in the principles
and practices associated with that knowledge;

provides students with an understanding of the
dynamics of cultural systems as they change over time, and as they are
impacted by external forces;

incorporates the in-depth study of unique elements
of contemporary life in Native communities in Alaska, such as the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement
Act, subsistence, sovereignty and self-determination.

A culturally-responsive curriculum uses the
local language and cultural knowledge as a foundation for the rest of the curriculum.

A curriculum that meets this cultural standard:

utilizes the local language as a base from which
to learn the deeper meanings of the local cultural knowledge, values, beliefs
and practices;

recognizes the depth of knowledge that is associated with
the long inhabitation of a particular place and utilizes the study of "place" as
a basis for the comparative analysis of contemporary social, political and
economic systems;

draws parallels between knowledge derived from
oral tradition and that derived from books;

engages students in the construction of new knowledge
and understandings that contribute to an ever-expanding view of the world.

A culturally-responsive curriculum situates
local knowledge and actions in a global context.

A curriculum that meets this cultural standard:

encourages students to consider the inter-relationship
between their local circumstances and the global community;

conveys to students that every culture and community
contributes to, at the same time that it receives from the global knowledge
base;

prepares students to "think globally, act
locally."

Cultural Standards for Schools

A culturally-responsive school fosters the
on-going participation of Elders in all aspects of the schooling process.

A school that meets this cultural standard:

maintains multiple avenues for Elders to interact
formally and informally with students at all times;

provides opportunities for students to regularly engage
in the documenting of Elders cultural knowledge and produce appropriate
print and multimedia materials that share this knowledge with others;

includes explicit statements regarding the cultural
values that are fostered in the community and integrates those values in
all aspects of the
school program and operation;

utilizes educational models that are grounded
in the traditional world view and ways of knowing associated with the cultural
knowledge system reflected
in the community.

A culturally-responsive school provides multiple
avenues for students to access the learning that is offered, as well as multiple
forms of assessment for students to demonstrate what they have learned.

encourages and supports experientially oriented
approaches to education that makes extensive use of community-based resources
and expertise;

provides cultural and language immersion programs
in which student acquire in-depth understanding of the culture of which
they are members;

helps students develop the capacity to assess
their own strengths and weaknesses and make appropriate decisions based
on such a self-assessment.

A culturally-responsive school provides opportunities
for students to learn in and/or about their heritage language.

A school that meets this cultural standard:

provides language immersion opportunities for
students who wish to learn in their heritage language;

offers courses that acquaint all students with
the heritage language of the local community;

makes available reading materials and courses
through which students can acquire literacy in the heritage language;

provides opportunities for teachers to gain familiarity
with the heritage language of the students they teach through summer immersion
experiences.

A culturally-responsive school has a high
level of involvement of professional staff who are of the same cultural background
as the students with whom they are working.

A school that meets this cultural standard:

encourages and supports the professional development
of local personnel to assume teaching and administrative roles in the school;

recruits and hires teachers whose background is
similar to that of the students they will be teaching;

provides a cultural orientation camp and mentoring
program for new teachers to learn about and adjust to the cultural expectations
and practices
of the community and school;

fosters and supports opportunities for teachers
to participate in professional activities and associations that help them
expand their repertoire
of cultural knowledge and pedagogical skills.

A culturally-responsive school consists of
facilities that are compatible with the community environment in which they
are situated.

A school that meets this cultural standard:

provides a physical environment that is inviting
and readily accessible for local people to enter and utilize;

makes use of facilities throughout the community
to demonstrate that education is a community-wide process involving everyone
as teachers;

utilizes local expertise, including students,
to provide culturally-appropriate displays of arts, crafts and other forms
of decoration and space design.

A culturally-responsive school fosters extensive
on-going participation, communication and interaction between school and community
personnel.

A school that meets this cultural standard:

holds regular formal and informal events bringing
together students, parents, teachers and other school and community personnel
to review, evaluate
and plan the educational program that is being offered;

provides regular opportunities for local and regional
board deliberations and decision-making on policy, program and personnel
issues related to the
school;

sponsors on-going activities and events in the
school and community that celebrate and provide opportunities for students
to put into practice
and display their knowledge of local cultural traditions.

Cultural Standards for Communities

A culturally-supportive community incorporates
the practice of local cultural traditions in its everyday affairs.

A community that meets this cultural standard:

provides respected Elders with a place of honor
in community functions;

models culturally-appropriate behavior in the
day-to-day life of the community;

utilizes traditional child-rearing and parenting
practices that reinforce a sense of identity and belonging;

organizes and encourages participation of members
from all ages in regular community-wide, family-oriented events;

incorporates and reinforces traditional cultural
values and beliefs in all formal and informal community functions.

A culturally-supportive community nurtures
the use of the local heritage language.

A community that meets this cultural standard:

recognizes the role that language plays in conveying
the deeper aspects of cultural knowledge and traditions;

sponsors local heritage language immersion opportunities
for young children when they are at the critical age for language learning;

encourages the use of the local heritage language
whenever possible in the everyday affairs of the community, including meetings,
cultural events,
print materials and broadcast media;

assists in the preparation of curriculum resource
material in the local heritage language for use in the school;

provides simultaneous translation services for
public meetings where persons unfamiliar with the local heritage language
are participants.

A culturally-supportive community takes an
active role in the education of all its members.

A community that meets this cultural standard:

encourages broad-based participation of parents in all aspects
of their childrens education, both in and out of school;

insures active participation by community members
in reviewing all local, regional and state initiatives that have bearing
on the education of
their children;

encourages and supports members of the local community
who wish to pursue further education to assume teaching and administrative
roles in the
school;

engages in subsistence activities, sponsors cultural
camps and hosts community events that provide an opportunity for children
to actively participate
in and learn appropriate cultural values and behavior;

provides opportunities for all community members
to acquire and practice the appropriate knowledge and skills associated
with local cultural traditions.

A culturally-supportive community nurtures
family responsibility, sense of belonging and cultural identity.